Maurice R. Ey

I attended Thebarton Boys Technical High School as a first year student in 1936. The classes were graded according to the marks obtained in the Qualifying Certificate – D1, D2, D3 and so on. The subjects taken were English, French (or German or geography), arithmetic, algebra, theoretical geometry, experimental science, geometrical drawing, dimensioned sketching, geometrical development, free drawing, clay modelling, woodwork and sheetmetal work.

In 1936 the school was 12 years old. It was a special school founded as a result of Dr Fenner’s concern for technical education in South Australia. By 1929 it had a fourth year and PEB class, and the school magazine was commercially printed. In the year I started there were 451 students and, in spite of the low school leaving age, 45 were studying beyond fourth year.

As part of the Dalton Plan, termed the freedom plan, four lessons a week were free lessons when we could go to specialist rooms (and teachers) to do any subject — practical subjects and homework excepted. Science experiments were done during this time. I remember on one occasion we were studying the cooling curve of molten wax. We heated the wax in tins over a Bunsen burner. We promptly blew up the stock of thermometers. We were asked to bring sixpence (5 cents) each to pay for immediate replacements. We also produced permanent records of magnetic fields on school student-manufactured wax paper. Successful results depended on not incinerating the wax paper.

I did not stay in the junior technical course because students considered able enough could miss the ‘C’ course and go into the ‘B’ course which was PEB based, with drawing and woodwork (or sheetmetal work) instead of all PEB subjects. These subjects were administered by the Education Department and the South Australian School of Arts.

It meant we could spread the Intermediate Certificate over two years if necessary. The subjects taken were English, French, arithmetic, algebra, theoretical geometry, physics, geometrical drawing grade I and woodwork.

Hence, in my case, I only studied under the modified Dalton Plan for the first year. We used a record card which had provision on it for the teachers in charge of the free periods to sign and mark our work. We could go from one room to another only at lesson change times and all teachers seemed to be on the lookout for stragglers and students doing the wrong subject in a given room.

The school had an active clubs programme. Meccano, wireless, stamp, correspondence, Junior Red Cross, first aid, and lifesaving had existed since 1928. In 1930 the literary society had begun and the wireless club had become the science club. A Students Christian Union had been formed the following year. This had been followed by a junior engineering club with 30 members, a rifle club, a cycle and travel club and, in my first year, we established an art club and the science club reverted to the wireless club with our own transmitter, VK 5TT, which went to air in Morse Code.

These clubs were conducted during lunch times and after school. Later in some schools, in 1943, clubs were a single programmed lesson each week. There were up to 20 clubs. During the war the clubs raised money in a variety of ways: spelling bees, quizzes, ‘Can you act?’ performances, boxing matches, and toy making for the Schools Patriotic Fund (SPF), the Red Cross and we made equipment for Air-Raid Precautions (ARP) and for hospitals. Some clubs made kettles from old wood-fired wash coppers donated to the SPF scrap metal drive. Others made toy soldiers from recycled lead.

The war was responsible for the closure of some clubs, for example Thebby’s amateur radio VK 5TT, and the curtailment of others like the camera club through lack of materials. Demonstration Night, when the school went on show with every room working, was always extremely well attended, particularly by prospective pupils and parents, was cancelled due to black out restrictions. The school magazine was also restricted in size and photographic content.

The Royal Spring Show, with its schools’ section, provided a showcase for the work done in technical schools. In woodwork and sheetmetal work the competition was fierce because exhibition cards displayed the name of the school. This was later dropped because of the judgmental comparisons of results. A side effect of this rivalry caused repercussions in classes with teachers giving extra attention to students with show entries in order to meet deadlines. I remember my solid blackwood coffee table was adjudged not to be a certain prize getter when time was getting short, so it received only a brush finish instead of a French polished one. The teacher was right! I got a ‘Highly Commended’; but was the finish an influencing factor? Parents paid extra for the materials used in these larger projects. This table cost mum and dad four shillings and sixpence – 45 cents!

Although courses were at the teacher’s discretion a woodwork student would make two bow saw frames, while the fitting and machining student would make two turn-buckles and handle tangs, thus each student would have a very functional bowsaw.

I never did blacksmithing because, even then, I thought the subject savoured of early Industrial Revolution conditions. Students would emerge from unlined, poorly-ventilated workshops – sooty, grimy, perspiring, wearing blackened leather aprons, in some cases stripped to the waist to clean themselves in the long wash trough/drinking troughs. Neither did I appreciate the value of clay modelling (‘Slush’) which was renowned for clay fights should the teacher’s vigilance lapse.

Sport was an extra-curricular activity being played on Saturdays, the exception being inter-school games played on Wednesday afternoons. The players lost lesson time. After the gymnasium was opened in 1937 teachers and senior students made much of the equipment.

During fourth year Leaving the school had outgrown its facilities. Our classroom was the upstairs staffroom. At this time prospective students were being turned away – 50 in one year.

I was appointed a junior teacher at Thebarton Boys Technical School in 1941. Due to staff shortages I was launched into woodwork classes, and took two lessons in PEB physics, for which I was highly qualified, having passed the subject the previous year.

In addition, my typing skills were called upon at exam times – no teacher aides – and I mastered the operation of a manual Gestetner duplicator – the aim of this was to build up speed without getting paper around the ink roller or blurred copies due to miss-feeds. Some exam papers were done using the jelly press (chromograph) – a strong gelatine in a tray with the master sheet being produced on a typewriter or hand written using indelible ink or pencil. This was really good for 30 or 40 copies in purple only.

Exam class results were given in percentages with class positions listed. I have several reasons why I prefer percentages over the A, B, C, D, U gradings but, apart from first, second or third, the other positions did not mean much unless you were always last. The class average was more relevant.

As a student I got the impression that my teachers were working for me and had my well-being at heart. There were few disciplinary problems with student misdemeanours few and far between. There was an innate sense of belonging to your class and your school, and anything which would reflect badly on them was taboo.

In a way at times we felt like pioneers out to prove a point about our school. This no doubt because of the break from the traditional high school system. The teachers were well qualified, including B.A, B.Sc., M.Sc., PhDs while the practical teachers (Manual Training Instructors) were experienced tradesmen and had done special training courses. These hands-on practical men were able to turn their hand to a variety of skills not dealt with in school projects, for example making gym equipment, adapting buildings to house school canteens, building bike sheds and racks, making benches, especially during the war when labour was unavailable.

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